Jewel of the Nile
by Shi-chan1
Summary: 1x2, yaoi, lemon, angst, S&M. -- Heero, Pharaoh of Egypt, knows that something is brewing in his seemingly peaceful country...a conspiracy against his throne, but by who? To get his mind off these troubles, the young Pharaoh decides to venture to the mark
1. Chapter 1

1 Jul 2001  
  
Author's notes: A brief historical note here, this is set sometime between 753 BCE and 612 BCE... That means sometime between the birth of the Roman Empire and the end of the Third Intermediate Period in Ancient Egypt. Assyria is in domination of Mesopotamia, Rome is a Monarchy, and it is somewhere between the Age of Tyrants and Age of Democracy in Greece. Christianity has not risen into view and the worship of many gods is prominent. End of history lesson. ^_^  
Thanks: Sony_Mouse for the title... ack, who gave me the idea?  
Warnings: yaoi, lime, lemon, angst, S&M  
Category: AU  
Pairings: 1xR, 1x2, 3x4  
  
  
  
  
  
Jewel of the Nile by Willow  
Part 1  
  
  
The rolling desert wind fondled the plaited tresses of Pharaoh Heero's black wig, shifting the formal headgear about like a living creature. The barely eighteen year-old blue-eyed king resisted the urge to remove the headpiece and cast it into the secluded lake that was at the center of his palace garden. His wife and Queen sensed his agitation and joined him on the terrace, threading an arm about his bare waist.  
  
"My King, what is it that bothers you?" the blue eyed woman asked. She already had rid herself of her headdress and her long blonde hair flowed down about her slightly sun-kissed shoulders. She nuzzled her husband's shoulder with her soft cheek, seeking only to soothe.  
  
"It is not you, Relena," Heero told her, turning to gather her in a comforting hug, his strong arms wrapping around her slim shoulders. "Of that you should not worry."  
  
"I did not think it was I, my husband," she said, pulling back from the embrace. She smiled at him playfully, an open invite. "But if there is anything I can do to alleviate your troubles..." She left the offer hanging in the air as she turned and went back into the palace.  
  
Heero just watched after her, her blonde hair swaying with every step. He smiled briefly, enjoying the view, before letting the feeling of wrongness come back to the forefront of his mind. "I do not know what it is, but there is something amiss." He sighed before turning, with a last glance over the garden, and followed his wife.  
  
  
  
  
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Relena sat in her chambers, enjoying the feel of her maids running stiff bristled brushes through her waist-length blonde hair. She closed her eyes and let out a contented sigh. Never in her land had she had such luxury.  
  
Her attention was caught by the hiss of a wig hitting the marble floor. She smiled as her maids, bowing, backed away and out the door opposite the one their Pharaoh had just entered. She remained seated with her back facing the door, watching as her maids shuffled to retreat.  
  
She felt a strong hand land on her shoulder and brush through her hair. Her husband had a fetish for long hair, she knew, and often times she would wear her hair down just to taunt him. It drove him crazy with lust to see it free and shining and Relena was not one to let such an advantage go to waste.  
  
"You love my hair, yet you do not feel the same for me. Why?" she asked.  
  
Heero was silent for a long moment, gently rubbing the long, silky strands between his calloused finger tips. "It is not that I do not try... I think it just is a matter of time."  
  
"And I think that you are fooling yourself, but I am content just to be at your side," she told him, certain it was the truth. She cared for him, but could not bring herself to love him. And she was content to be his Queen, even if he didn't love her. Besides... as long as she was Queen, if he were to die, she would be ruler. This contented her also.  
  
Suddenly, the slightly rough fingers grasped her neck and a hot mouth seized hers.  
  
  
  
  
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Heero grunted as he collapsed on top of his wife's prone body. "Nnn," she moaned, nipping at his ear. "Feeling any better, my King?" she asked as he pulled out of her and rolled onto his back.  
  
"Some," he said, kissing her cheek before climbing out of her bed. "There is something I must attend to."  
  
"The kingdom can wait. It sleeps, like you should," Relena pouted. "You won't stay, no matter what I say... will you?"  
  
Heero shook his head, dressing quickly. He was gone before she could say more. She sighed as she turned to look out the large window overlooking the inner garden. Exhausted from their bout of love-making, Relena drifted off to sleep.  
  
  
  
  
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Morning came and Heero sat alone in the Great Hall. It was early yet, and his advisors were likely just climbing out of their beds. Heero tired of waiting -- patience can only last so long, even for he -- and set off to find his friends.  
  
He found one of them, Wufei, practicing a foreign fighting style in one of the many open-air courts that littered the palace. He watched the black haired boy for a bit, watched the sweat glistening on the hard, tan body. Wufei was the only one of his closest friends who actually had naturally black long hair. The others, including himself, had to wear wigs at official sessions since theirs were both the wrong color and short in length.  
  
Heero grinned as Wufei finished his morning practice and nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw his friend and King watching. "You, Pharaoh, are a demon," he stated fondly, smirking at his friend.  
  
Heero just shook his head. "Where are Quatre and Trowa? I have plans to head out into the city."  
  
Wufei gave him a 'you know very well where those two are' look before grabbing a cloth from where it was hanging on a tree branch and wiping his face. Heero sighed and waited till Wufei joined him before setting off to retrieve his other two advisors.  
  
  
  
  
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A persistent knocking drew Trowa's attention. He made an irritated noise, but untangled himself from his lover's embrace and, wrapping a sheet around his waist, walked over to open the door. He blinked in surprise as a pair of irritated blue eyes met his.  
  
"We must have over slept," Trowa said, stepping back to allow the Pharaoh and the black haired boy into the room.  
  
Someone murmured something from the vicinity of the bed before a blond head popped out from under the thin white sheets. "Oh... oops," the blond giggled. "Sorry, Heero..."  
  
Heero just rolled his eyes and waited for the pair to dress. "I want to go out into the city... something is happening, I can feel it..."  
  
Quatre nodded. "Yes, there is a tension growing." The blond boy closed his eyes, his brow creasing in concentration as he fastened a golden belt around his slim waist. He opened his eyes and sighed. "I cannot pinpoint it."  
  
Heero just nodded and, once the two late risers had finished dressing, turned and left the palace.  
  
  
  
  
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The market place was bustling and, as this was a prosperous time, business was booming. The group bypassed carts of this and tents selling that, intent on the center court in which the slaves were sold. Heero grinned, the Mesopotamians usually brought it such fine 'goods' and he was looking forward to perusing the 'wares.'  
  
A beady-eyed man of slight stature and sporting a scraggly beard streaked in grey met them at the entrance. "Hoping to get something off the auction blocks, Majesty?" the man asked, letting him in to the open-air arena.  
  
"Why else would I be here?" Heero grunted, stepping past the man. "Are the wares good this day?"  
  
"Aye," the man answered, ushering the Pharaoh down to the block where he could browse the slaves. "Take your time, Lord-Pharaoh, and call me when you've chosen your purchase."  
  
Heero just nodded and turned to look at the 'merchandise.' Trowa walked up next to him and pointed at a long line of figures. "Those seem in best condition," he said quietly. Heero turned his head in the direction Trowa was pointing and stopped.   
  
There in the line of chained slaves was the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen. The being had an impossibly long braid of golden-brown hair... never mind that the slave was as dirty as a pig in wallow, it was the most captivating individual he'd ever laid eyes upon.  
  
Casually, so as not to appear to have chosen his prize so soon, Heero walked down the line, casting a shallow, unseeing glance over the rank of slaves. When he got to the being that had captured his eye he stopped and looked. "Hm," he murmured. At this close range he could tell that the slave was male, though with the elfin face and long plait of hair if you didn't think to look for tell-tale signs you'd never know it. "Step forward," he commanded. When the boy didn't move he grasped the pointed chin between his calloused fingers. "I said, step forward." He was rewarded a flinch as the boy obeyed. Heero ran his eyes once more over the wiry body. "Yes... this one will do..." he drawled, trailing a finger down the boy's cheek.  
  
The boy's eyes -- violet, Heero noted -- flashed anger and before Heero could register the movement, the boy snap his teeth shut around one finger. Heero yanked his hand back and struck the boy across one high cheek bone. "Feisty... I like that," Heero murmured, leaning forward. "You know, if I wasn't already planning to buy you, that would have been the clincher." The boy stiffened and looked as if he planned to fight, then his muscles relaxed and his expression went blank. Heero smiled. "That's a good boy." Again the fire crept into the violet eyes, but the boy smoldered it before it could be channeled into reaction.  
  
Finally, the beady-eyed man answered his summons. "This one, Majesty?" the man asked dubiously. "Lord-Pharaoh, you cannot be telling me this is your pick... Of all the well mannered and well behaved slaves, you pick this miscreant?!" At the words, the boy hissed like he wanted to throttle the man. Heero too felt anger boiling in him and for what reason he could not discern.  
  
"All the more fun to break," Heero told the wretched man, a smirk thinning his lips as the boy's eyes widened in fear. "I have made my choice, what is the price?"  
  
"1500," the man said.  
  
Heero raised an eyebrow. "Such a high price for a 'miscreant'..."  
  
The beady-eyed man winced. "Granted his is a troublemaker and lacks manners, but his is a good buy... After all, his beauty alone rates him as a prize..."  
  
"So I've noticed... And...?"  
  
"And... I cannot say... I am just the front man, I sell them at the price the Master gives me..." the man fidgeted, clearly uncomfortable with the question asked.  
  
Heero really didn't care, no price was too high... after all, he was Pharaoh. He groped in his pouch for the right amount, giving the man slightly over the specified amount. Quickly the man unchained the boy, only to place a pair of shackles with a lead on the boy's thin wrists.   
  
Heero smirked at his stunned friends as he led the boy-slave over to where they stood.  
  
"Finished so soon?" Wufei asked, raising one finely sculpted eyebrow. Heero nodded and he decided to look over the purchase. Long hair, sinewy body, pale skin, tender face... and the most amazing eyes Wufei'd ever seen. He'd thought Heero and Trowa's eyes were amazing, but this boy's put both the blue eyed boy and the green eyed one to shame. "Nice choice," he commented.  
  
"I'll say," Quatre put in, giving the boy a once over of his own. The braided boy blushed and ducked his head down, making Quatre giggle.  
  
Heero decided they had meandered enough, morning was at its peek and he want to get started 'training' his new pet. He tugged lightly on the chain and the boy obediently followed them out of the arena and back to the palace.  
  
  
  
  
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"First things first," Heero's maid said, grinning from ear to ear. Upon arriving at the Pharaoh's room, Hilde'd been shocked with a daunting task: 'civilize' the slave Heero'd bought at the market. A daunting task indeed, for the boy was stubborn and would not help her one bit in the task. "Please please get in the tub... You are bigger than I and I cannot carry you... Please? I'm not going to hurt you..."  
  
The boy looked at her, obviously caring less if he got a bath (or helped her in the task) or not.  
  
"Look..." she sighed. "I'll get whipped if I do not follow through with my task... Please, just get in the damned tub... I'll do the rest," she said, pleading mentally that he would just do that one thing.  
  
The boy sighed and quickly, since Hilde'd already stripped him of his clothes, walked over and into the waist deep bath. She thanked the gods and followed him into the shallow pool. "I've got to wash your hair..." she said, taking the end and unfastening the leather thong.  
  
Before long she was finished and the boy was clean. "There," she said. "Now to get you some clothes..." She made a quick trip out into the next room and returned with a pile of linens and a pair of leather sandles. "Majesty will see to it that you get other clothes, but for now these will have to do."  
  
The boy dressed mechanically, distaste evident in his every move. After he was decent, Hilde led him into the Pharaoh's chambers to wait. "Do not try to leave... there are guards posted at the door. The Pharaoh will be back shortly."  
  
As soon as the door shut, the boy slumped to the floor. And in a sweet tenor whispered, "Sweet Athena, what have I done to deserve this?"  
  
  
  
  
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"Your Majesty, the borders have forever been a difficult region," the old, grey haired farmer said, kneeling before his King. "The soldiers that patrol the border are not enough to stop the bandits and other savages from ravaging our farms and homes... Children and women are lost, raped, murdered... and crops destroyed..." The man droned on, but Heero was not listening. He'd heard this sob story time and time again and they all asked for the same thing. "Please, Majesty... I beg of you. Can you, somehow, spare more soldiers to patrol?"  
  
Heero sighed and considered a moment. His people were not currently at war, so he did have extra soldiers to spare... But would it be prudent to send them away from their homes and happy lives to stop a few savages from running amuck in the borderlands? "Give me time to consult with my advisors. You shall have your answer by tomorrow at sundown."  
  
"Thank you, Majesty," the man said, bowing and scuttling back into the throng of people.  
  
"If that is all for the day, I shall be retiring to my quarters," Heero said. Before anyone could speak up, he was gone.  
  
Quatre stood at the base of the throne and watched the blue eyed young man practically run down the hall. He sighed and shook his head. "He has it bad, yes?" he asked the tall man next to him.  
  
"Seems he is in a hurry to break in his new toy... the Queen will not be pleased," Wufei said, stopping to stand beside them.  
  
"What will no please me?"  
  
Wufei nearly jumped out of his skin. The woman had a way of being silent that unnerved him to no end. She was like a snake, slithering into position before silently whipping out and capturing its prey.  
  
"It is nothing, my Queen," Quatre said, smiling sweetly. "It just seems the Pharaoh is in no mood to socialize." Quatre nearly grinned over at Wufei. Relena's favorite thing to do was socialize with her King, flaunt that she was his mate, the Queen of Egypt. Quatre sweatdropped as he remembered that the young woman liked to refer to herself as the Jewel of the Nile... He would not argue with her over it, but he knew that a woman as she could never be the Jewel of the Nile.  
  
"Oh, what a pity," the Queen pouted. "Perhaps I can change his mood..." She took a step toward the door but Trowa stopped her.  
  
"I do not think that would be wise, my Queen," Trowa said, his quiet voice carrying a muted warning. "He was in a terrible mood, ready to break something..." When Heero was in the mood to break something, he didn't care what it was he broke... anything or anyone, he didn't care... And Relena knew this. Her eyes widened.  
  
"Thank you, Captain, for the warning... I shall leave my husband to his own devices this eve..." She smiled. "I shall just have to amuse myself, shan't I?" And with that she turned and picked out a single blond nobleman and latched herself onto his arm.  
  
Quatre pitied the man, but was glad Relena had not pursued her husband down the hall... Even though Heero was not currently in a break-something mood, he would be if the blonde woman had interrupted him.  
  
  
  
  
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end part 1 


	2. Chapter 2

30 July 2001  
  
Ok, since my beta is out of town and I've made everyone wait so long, here is part 2 of JotN unbetaed [IE All mistakes are mine]. Obviously you have figured out where Duo is from, ne? If not, Duo's from Athens, Greece... ::grins:: we'll have meetings of other countries as the story progresses.  
  
Author's notes: A brief historical note here, this is set sometime between 753 BCE and 612 BCE... That means sometime between the birth of the Roman Empire and the end of the Third Intermediate Period in Ancient Egypt. Assyria is in domination of Mesopotamia, Rome is a Monarchy, and it is somewhere between the Age of Tyrants and Age of Democracy in Greece. Christianity has not risen into view and the worship of many gods is prominent. End of history lesson. ^_^ Thanks: Sony_Mouse for the title... ack, who gave me the idea?  
Warnings: yaoi, lime, lemon, angst, S&M, masturbation  
Category: AU  
Pairings: main 1x2, 3x4, 13x6; other less focused on 1xR, 13x2  
  
  
  
  
  
Jewel of the Nile by Willow  
Part 2  
  
  
As soon as the door shut, Duo slumped to the floor. And in a sweet tenor whispered, "Sweet Athena, what have I done to deserve this?"  
  
Wary violet eyes danced about the room, taking in the grandure of it. He noted, with awe, that the furnishings were more lavish and expensive than his own back home.  
  
Back home. His heart ached at the reminder that he was no longer in his home, his Athens, with his people... in preparation for his marriage.   
  
He scowled and pushed himself up off the floor.  
  
It had been his betrothed who had betrayed him, payed for his kidnapping and enslavement. The man was a sneaky one and, even though Duo had not proof, he was sure it was he, Treize, who had ordered his abduction.  
  
Duo could remember every detail about that day, the day those ugly men had strolled casually up to him while he was walking in the meadows. He'd thought nothing of them, people came up to him all the time. But his eyes had widened as he suddenly found a set of strong arms wrapped about his torso from the back, then a cloth was pressed to hi mouth... then blackness; the blue sky faded and there was light no more. He'd woken to find himself in a covered wooden wagon, chained to bars with about thirty other bodies.  
  
A soft click snapped him out of his thoughts and he looked toward the door, only to find no one there. He unclenched his fists to find tiny cresents cut into his palm. He sighed, rubbing the slight tears as he sat down on the large, gauze draped bed.  
  
The day's journeys and new findings caught up with him and he lay back on the soft bed, sleep drifting over him.  
  
  
  
  
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Heero watched from the shadows as the boy paced back and forth about the room. The boy hadn't said a word but his motions were fluid grace, courtly and ingrained; unnatural actions that were so trained as to be natural. Heero smirked, the boy intrigued him. Perhaps he should watch this one, instead of breaking him and casting him away.  
  
'Yes. That is what I'll do,' Heero thought to himself, slipping out the door and into the long muraled corridor. [1]  
  
  
  
  
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Relena turned and smiled once she and her escort had gotten away from the crowd in the inner chamber. "It's so good to see you, brother!" she chimed, hugging the blond man fiercely.  
  
Zechs smiled and returned the hug. "And you, little sister. How are things with your husband?" he asked.  
  
Relena looked exasperated. "His is aloof, stand-offish, as always... He's warm enough, except for as of late..."  
  
"Oh?" Zechs said, raising an eyebrow. "Do elaborate."  
  
"Well," she sighed. "The is a rising tension in the populace that has him on edge... He makes trips out into the city to show his power or to locate the cause of the tension, I do not know which. He's generally meloncholy and often in a terrible mood."  
  
Zechs just nodded. "It is the way of Kings, I suppose. Were it that there was a way to change the way things stand..."  
  
Relena looked at him oddly. "What do you mean by that, Zechs?"  
  
Instead of answering her, he turned the tables. "Baby sister, have you not dreamed of power and riches?"  
  
"I have those already, Zechs--"  
  
"No, more than you have. Rule. Have you ever dreamed of a better position for the people? Egypt's King does not care what the common folk live like, he is, as you have told me, aloof and meloncholy... is that the kind of King who should rule the people of Egypt?"  
  
"What are you scheming, brother?" Relena asked, backing away from the tyrading man.  
  
"Think about it, Lena! Peace and prosperity... and the love of your people! Help us, Lena... Help us take down the Pharaoh! Help us create an era of peace for the peopel of Egypt!"  
  
"Zechs," Relena said in a warning tone. "Brother, you know this is treason! You should not speak such things, especially not to the Queen..."  
  
"If you help us, Lena, you could be the Pharaoh!" Zechs said, willing Relena to join him.  
  
"You should go, brother... Be off, before you say more and I must report you to the Guards," she ground out, her voice tense. Her own brother, plotting against her husband and King. No matter that Heero was aloof and antisocial, he was still a /good/ ruler. "Go, Zechs... please."  
  
Zechs sighed and nodded. "If you will not join us..."  
  
"Go!" And without a glance back, she left the balcony on which they'd talked and headed back to the main audience chamber.  
  
"You will help us, Relena... I just know you will," Zechs said, before hurrying to leave the palace grounds.  
  
  
  
  
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Duo awoke to find himself in a small, lavishly adorned room, having been moved in his sleep. He blinked as he recognized the setting: a concubine's quarters. What was he, royalty of Greece, doing sleeping in such surroundings... then he reminded himself, ruefully, that he was a slave here. Betrayed and sold, purchased by another royalty and made a servent. Or, as he was beginning to realise: not a servent, but more of a sex slave.  
  
Duo groaned, but the disgust and shame he had begun to wallow in was shattered and reality brought back to him in the form of a young girl with blue-black hair.  
  
"Good morning! Glad to see you're finally awake!" the cheerful voice of the maid said. "We met yesterday.. I'm Hilde, the Pharaoh's maid... and I shall be serving you."  
  
Duo blinked at her. "Why?" he asked stupidly.  
  
"Because you are his newest aquirement," Hilde chirped. "I think he likes you."  
  
Duo blushed slightly and gaped, flustered. She'd just flat out told him he was the emperor's new toy and she didn't seem the least bit bothered by that.  
  
Hilde just grinned. "Here, put these on... they're a lot nicer than those you have on now," she said, handing the boy a bundle.   
  
Duo unwrapped the cloth, then stared slack-jawed in amazement. Silk. He looked up at the girl, jaw working. Hilde just winked again and grinned broadly. "Like I said, I think he likes you. By the way, what was your name? I don't think I caught it."  
  
"Duo," he said, standing from the bed.  
  
"Pretty name..." Hilde said, moving to help the boy change into the new clothes. Duo's only reply was to blush once more.  
  
  
  
  
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Heero watched from slitted eyes as Hilde directed the new slave through pre-dawn preparations. The boy, clothed in the silks he'd sent over, looked even more entrancing than he'd imagined. The black and violet cloth concealing and revealing in tantalizing patterns. A thought flitted through Heero's head that the boy completely looked the part of a sex slave, though currently Heero had no intention of using the beautiful boy as such. He lay still, contented with the fact that the boy was his personal slave and he could dress him as he saw fit, even if it was like a sex slave.  
  
The young Pharaoh nearly gave away his servalance when the braided youth was instructed to pick up the dirty clothing.  
  
  
  
  
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Never in his short life had he felt so low. Granted being on the selling block waiting for someone to come by and purchase him was degrading, but this... menial labor, cleaning up after someone else's mess... this was the lowest. And here he thought he'd only be subject to degrading tasks as various sex acts.  
  
"Hilde, this--"  
  
"Look, Duo," Hilde sighed, a weary expression settling over her features. "This is your job and you're gonna have to get used to it... You're a servant just like me, just a slightly different servant. Don't act like it's below your station to clean up someone's mess... and this is just clothes! For Isis' sake, just put them in the hamper and be done with it!"  
  
The braided boy blinked at the female servant. Of course it was below his station to do menial labor, he was a prince from one of the most powerful empires in the kown world. But of his thoughts and rebuttal, he said not a word, just sighed and bent and put the smelly clothing into the basket that the dark haired girl had indicated.  
  
"Ok, let's move on..."  
  
  
  
  
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"Of all the degrading, menial tasks..." Duo muttered, squatting down and petting the little black kitten that had been wrapping itself around his legs. Against his will a smile crept onto his face, softening his glare as the kitty purred and climbed up into his lap.  
  
"She likes you," a voice said behind him.  
  
Startled, Duo lost his balance and landed on his butt. He looked up to find amused azure eyes smiling down on him. He blinked then reminded himself of his status here as a slave and scrambled to his feet and ducked his head.  
  
Quatre noticed the hesitation, his smile widening into a grin. Leaning down he tried to coax the onyx furred feline to him. Instead, her green eyes narrowed, her ears lay flat against her skull, and she hissed at him.  
  
The blond looked up as he heard a muffled chuckle from above. Quatre stood and backed away from the kitten until she calmed, going back to rubbing herself on Duo's bare legs. "And it seems she does not like me," he stated, smiling at the brunette. "I'm Quatre."  
  
"Duo," Duo said, as meekly as he could.  
  
"So," Quatre smiled again as the cat reached up, her claws dragging down Duo's white legs in askance leaving tiny red trails. Duo leaned down and lifted the light furrball, letting it cuddle and nuzzle against his chin. "You're the boy Heero purchased yesterday, no? I'm Quatre, the Pharaoh's economic advisor. You like cats?"  
  
Duo nodded. "Yes, I used to have one at home... a lovely orange stripped on," he told the advisior, keeping his head down as he petted the feline who arched her back and leaned against his hand as it traveled from her ears to her tail.  
  
"What was your home like?" Quatre asked, interested in the boy. He had a feeling that there was something more to him than a simple servant, though he could not quite figure it out. Something about him though; perhaps his beauty and grace, or his demeanor... something underlaying that screamed subtlely, so subtle it was bearly a whisper.  
  
Duo glanced up at the blond through his bangs. How much should he say? It wasn't like he could bluntly say 'Oh, it was wonderful, a marble palace and my own servants... almost as elegant as this palace.. oh by the way, would you please care to tell your Pharaoh that I'd like to go home now?' He knew that he could trust the young man to some extent, but how far was the question. The blond -- Quatre? -- was loyal to his king, that much Duo was certain of.  
  
"Beautiful open country-side with fields of grain and meadows of wild flowers... my family had an elegant yet simple home, warm and comforting... it was all I knew, our home and the surrounding country-side," Duo told him. It wasn't exactly a lie, he'd just left out exactly what lay in the country and just how elegant his home was.  
  
"Sounds like you miss it," Quatre said, feeling the braided slave's homesickness.  
  
"I do," Duo said truthfully.  
  
  
  
  
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Trowa smiled as his blond lover sat and talked to the braided boy. The slave relaxed around him, just like everyone else did around Quatre. His little blond love had a way with people that was just amazing. "Maybe Quatre will discern why Heero chose a sex slave and decided to use him as a maid," Trowa mused to himself.  
  
It had struck him odd when he'd spoken to Hilde that morning and the girl had told him of her instructions to show the boy what to do as Heero's maid. He'd tried to querry her further, but she knew nothing more than what she'd been commanded to do.  
  
"Perhaps this boy may be just the thing to draw Heero from his inner broodings and back to us," Trowa thought aloud as he watched the two boys talking under the palm by the pond.  
  
  
  
  
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Heero lay back in his bath, enjoying the soft fragrances from the scented water, the lillies, and the incense that burned on a censer across the room. He relaxed as the warm water eased his tense muscles. His thoughts drifted from one thing to another, bubbling along from demands of his country to more personal matters.  
  
He envisioned the violet eyed boy he'd made purchase of the previous day. His little servant dressed in fine silks that highlighted his glowing eyes and alabaster skin. No one had ever draw his lust so fully, just the thought of the cobalt eyed slave made him hard and needy.  
  
His hand stole down his chest, caressing the sensative skin of his nipples and trailing teasingly along his rippled stomach to the chocolate curls above his turgid member. Slowly, teasingly he wrapped his hand around his erect and swollen shaft, squeazing hard then releasing it in a rhythmic pattern. All the while imagining his new slave in front of him, teasing him, pleasuring him...   
  
"Heero?"  
  
The young Pharaoh's eyes snapped open and he glared toward his room. 'Of all the times,' Heero thought angrily.  
  
  
  
  
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Relena smiled happily as her husband walked into the room, a towel furiously being rubbed against his hair. "What is it, Relena?" he asked, his voice slightly tense. Relena blinked.   
  
"Oh... well, I..." she said, flustered. She gathered herself and spoke in her normal regal tone. "You seem to have forgotten your audience this afternoon, my husband. They are waiting for you."  
  
Heero raised an eyebrow. "Why did you come and not a servant?"  
  
Relena smiled, her kohl rimmed eyes squinching slightly. "Because I am the best one to find you, my husband... And, seeing as I found you nearly in the buff, I prefer it that way... I don't like servants, or anyone but I for that matter, seeing my King as only I am supposed to be allowed to."  
  
Heero snorted and walked over to his dressing table. Relena knew well and good that servants often saw either of them in the nude, for it was they how served. "Fine, you have found me... Tell the audience that I am sorry to have kept them waiting and that I shall be there as soon as humanly possible."  
  
"As you command, my King," she said, then bowed and left his chambers.   
  
As soon as the door was shut, Heero called out for his maid, praying to the gods that she be quick in answering. He gave a hurried thanks as she materialized in the doorway. "You called, my king?" she asked, her deep midnight eyes twinkling as she smiled pleasantly at him.  
  
"The boy -- what was his name?"  
  
"Duo, sire."  
  
"Bring him to me, he will sit in on this audience..." Heero told her. 'That will show Relena her place is Queen not dominatrix.'  
  
"At once, sire." The black haired girl bowed then hurried out to find the braided boy.  
  
  
  
  
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End part 2 


	3. Chapter 3

30 July 2001  
  
Yay! Two parts in two days!  
  
Thanks: Sony_Mouse for the title... ack, who gave me the idea?  
Warnings: yaoi, lime, lemon, angst, S&M, masturbation  
Category: AU  
Pairings: main 1x2, 3x4, 13x6; other less focused on 1xR, 13x2  
  
  
  
  
  
Jewel of the Nile by Willow  
Part 3  
  
  
"You have my answer, no soldiers will be sent," Heero stated, glaring as the old man began to protest.  
  
"No care for his country," Duo muttered to himself. He sat at the Pharaoh's feet on a pile of lavish cushions, watching the crowd of people seeking the Pharaoh's help, watching as the Pharaoh turned away man after man, watching the faces of Heero's people crumble in despair. "Show a little compassion, why don't you?" he hissed to no one, his voice naught but a whisper.  
  
"Pharaoh, please reconsider," the old farmer pleaded. "Think of your people, Majesty. They rape our children, our women and steal from our homes.. they kill our livestock and destroy our lives."  
  
Heero looked at the man and raised an arm to command his guards to remove the begging man. He stopped midmotion, though, upon hearing a small, almost imperceptable cough from his left. He shot a glance at the boy to find his slave glaring at him, his violet eyes fierce. The expression on the braided slave's face was commanding and Heero found himself relenting.  
  
"Fine, I shall spare you a company," he told the old man. "Nothing more, nothing less."  
  
A smile broke across the geezer's face and he practically tripped over himself to bow on his knees before his King. "Oh thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you ever so much! May the gods bless you for all time!"  
  
Heero just nodded, casting another glance at the braided boy beside him. The boy was looking at the old man with a triumphant look on his face, the wide cobalt eyes dancing merrily as the man hurried out of the palace, telling everyone he passed just how benevolent the Pharaoh was.  
  
"Next?"  
  
  
  
  
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"What is that /boy/ doing there?!" Relena hissed to her maid as she watched this afternoon's audience from behind the right wing curtains. She had been stung when Heero had commanded her not to attend today's audience, but being the woman that she was she had to find out the reason behind her husband's demand. She'd not been expecting to see the boy sitting at her King's feet, decked out in silks that made the foreign boy all the more exotic.  
  
"I do not know, my Queen," her maid said. "The Pharaoh /did/ go out to the city yesterday and I am told he purchased a slave, but I was not told of what  
  
grade. It seems he has chosen a toy to show off..."   
Perhaps that was it. Just a token item, but then why did Relena have this haunting feeling that the boy was something more than he appeared.  
  
She watched until the audience was over and waited behind the curtain as Heero left the audience chamber followed by the boy. She watched the braided child -- for that was what he was -- closely, noting the gliding steps of the young man. There was more than just natural grace in his stride, something instilled through training.  
  
Only two classes of people were taught such grace: royalty and pleasure slaves.  
  
  
  
  
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"What were you doing in there!?" Heero demanded once his chamber doors were firmly closed and bolted.  
  
Duo blinked at him, surprised by the outburst, then his expression hardened and he all but glared at the Pharaoh. "Are you so philistine that you would allow these barbarians he spoke of to continue to attack your people?" He knew he was asking for a beating, slaves did /not/ talk like that to their masters -- especially if their master was the King of the country -- but he also knew that a good ruler took care of his people, was compassionate and caring. "Do you not care what happens to your country? Because people make up the country!"  
  
Heero clamped down on his initial reaction -- which was to reach out and backhand the mouthy slave -- instead forcing himself to remain calm and speak to the boy. "And you know how to rule the people?"  
  
"I know how people want to be treated," Duo told him, looking down at his feet. "How they want to be ruled."  
  
"And how's that?" Heero asked. The boy was even more intriguning than he'd initially figured. First the amusing way he'd reacted to menial tasks and now knowledge of politics and government.  
  
"Compassionately," Duo said quietly. "By a strong leader whom they know will do the right thing. That is a leader they can trust and will loyally follow through all the gods' wraths."  
  
  
  
  
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"So he told you to get the people's trust and loyalty you have to be a strong compassionate leader?" Trowa asked, looking at his friend.  
  
Heero nodded.  
  
"He is right." Both men nearly jumped as Wufei detached himself from the rafters and joined them at the table. The obsidian eyed man just smirked and took a sip of the drink Trowa slid in front of him. "A good leader must be strong and compassionate... Where does this boy come from that he knows well what a government needs to aquire the loyalty and trust of its governed?"  
  
"Greece," Quatre said, walking in and planting himself on Trowa's lap. "He's from Greece."  
  
"That explains his palor and build," Heero murmured into his cup. The braided slave was getting under his skin, which was never a good thing for Heero... "But not his knowledge."  
  
"Talk to him," Wufei stated.  
  
"What?" Heero blinked at the golden skinned man. His guard master just nodded.  
  
"Talk to him... get to know him... make him feel at ease and allow yourself to use the knowledge this young man brings with his beauty." The other three looked at him. "What? I am not blind, you know? I know beauty when I see it; and /that/ is a thing of true beauty."  
  
Heero nodded and left.  
  
  
  
  
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"Talk to him? Make him feel at ease? What am I supposed to say? 'Hey, Duo, join in with my friends and I, doesn't matter that you're a slave and I'm the Pharaoh!' Yeah, sure," Heero muttered to himself. He grumbled to himself for a bit, wandering around his secluded garden.  
  
He paused as he came close to the window that looked in on the room adjoining his... the one meant for a royal concubine... the one he'd given to Duo. He stilled himself, hiding in the shadow of a tree as the inside light illuminated a figure pacing within. Stealthily Heero edged closer, watching as the slim figure walked around the room restlessly. A light whispering of the boy's tenor could be heard as he talked to himself as he paced, yet what he said Heero could not discern.  
  
An idea struck him and Heero quickly left his shadows and headed back to his rooms.  
  
  
  
  
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Inside his room, Duo cursed himself in all the languages he knew. After their little confrontation this afternoon, Duo'd decided to take a nap and calm himself... There was no need to let the Master get him all riled up. He'd felt like a cat with it's fur ruffled; the hair on the nape of his neck had even stood on end. Duo had hoped that sleep would calm his nerves...   
  
But no. Sleep was against him also...  
  
He'd paced about the room for a good ten minutes wondering why he let Heero get him all riled up and asking himself if he was a masochist since slaves did /not/ talk back to their masters, no matter what the circumstance... that was asking -- no, begging to be knocked into next week. When he'd finally worn himself out enough to sleep, he'd dreamed....  
  
The Pharaoh's hands on him, touching him, making him moan and whimper in ecstasy, driving him to beg for more. Duo'd awoken sweaty and painfully hard. He'd whimpered as he realized that he had been dreaming about Heero... He'd known the man two days and that gorgeous body had begun invading his dreams.  
  
"I cannot believe this!" He chided himself. "I /cannot/ be lusting after him! I cannot! It's not fair! How can this happen! I do /not/ lust after men, let alone that pompus ass Pharaoh Heero!"  
  
  
  
  
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"Duo!" Heero called, standing by the bed dress only in a long white cloth similar to a loin cloth, but reaching his knees. He surpressed a smile as the slave-boy appeared in the door way. "Come to me."  
  
The boy did as bade, coming to stand in front of the half-dressed King. "Yes, Majesty?" he querried, none of his earlier fight in his tone, just simple obedience.  
  
"Let me look upon the beauty that I have bought," Heero drawled, stepping slightly closer to the boy and slowly walking around the silk clad body.  
  
"You cannot buy beauty, Majesty," Duo stated, a crimson blush creeping up his neck and fair cheeks. It took all his will power not to become hard at the sight of the half naked Pharaoh.  
  
"Ah, but I have. And here he stands before me, wrapped in such divine wrappings... the most beautiful creature I have ever laid eyes on. Beauty my Queen would envy if she laid her eyes upon it." Heero stopped, having walked full circle, and looked into Duo's eyes. "Perhaps I should unwrap my purchase and see the beauty in full?"  
  
It wasn't a question, nor a command... simply a thought that carried a compelling force. Duo found himself carefully stripping off the silken garments before he was stopped by a strong hand.  
  
"Let me," the Pharaoh said huskily in the boy's ear, smiling when a shiver shot through the boy and Duo dropped his hands to his sides.  
  
Slowly, teasingly, Heero bared inch after inch of smooth, ivory skin until the boy stood before him naked as the day he was born. Then he moved to the hair, carefully removing the thong that held the long strands in their confining braid. He gently combed through the silky locks until the shining mass surrounded the ethereal boy before him.  
  
Heero stood back and drank in every curve and shadow, every slope of the slim and willowy body before his eyes. "Beautiful... ever more so than I could imagine," he whispered, coming to stand in front of the braided young man. Smirking, he reached his hand between their bodies and asked "Do you want me?" before running a feather light touch over the boy's member. The limp flesh twitched, hardening as Heero continued to tease it until soon it stood erect, swollen and proud. Heero asked the boy again, "Do you want me?"  
  
Duo nodded, bitting his lip as Heero wrapped his long, slightly calloused fingers around his straining arousal. He gasped as the Pharaoh ghosted his finger tips along the underside of his throbbing appendage, then the man's hand was gone. Duo blinked as Heero stepped away and removed his 'loincloth' and beconed for him to follow him toward the bed. "Come to me."  
  
Every nerve in Duo's body begged for more of the Pharaoh's touch while his brain screamed at him that he was going to be used and tossed away just like the sex slaves in his father's court, only royal concubines were kept. But his body would not follow his brains commands and slowly glided toward the awaiting Pharaoh.  
  
  
  
  
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Zechs smiled as he walked through the marketplace. He'd seen the token pet at the Pharaoh's feet this afternoon and he was sure his darling sister had too. Who could miss the beautiful boy sitting there glaring about the room? Or the smile that had appeared upon the boy's caramel lips when Pharaoh Heero'd changed his order and given the old man his request. Perhaps this toy was just what was needed to bring the Queen over to their side.  
  
"Zechs," a sensuous voice called from a nearby cafe.  
  
The blond man turned and smile. "Treize."  
  
"How goes our plans?" The auburn haired man asked in Latin, taking a sip of red wine from his goblet.  
  
"All goes well, Treize..."  
  
"And your sister? Will she help us?"  
  
Zechs frowned unpleasantly. "She declined my offer... but I have a feeling it is only a matter of time before she sees the light and joins our cause... A new pawn has entered the game."  
  
Treize lifted one elegant eyebrow. "Oh? Tell me of this... pawn."  
  
Zechs smiled, his icy blue eyes narrowing. "The Pharaoh brought a toy with him to the audience this eve... a young boy of exquisite beauty... Surely the Queen, my sweet sister Relena, will assume that this toy -- this sex slave as it is obvious that is what the boy is -- has taken her place in the Pharaoh's bed... She is a jealous woman... she knows the Pharaoh doesn't love her, but she is determined to at least remain his favourite toy... She enjoys the spotlight."  
  
Treize nodded. "Very astute of you, Zechs..." The ginger haired man paused. "Describe that which will bring your sister to us... elaborate on this beauty."  
  
"He's young, not of age," Zechs said. "Long golden brown hair and pale alabaster skin.. I could not get close enough to know more than that... His eyes were dark, but the color I could not ascertain." Zechs watched the Roman's face as he processed the information.  
  
'Could it be?' Treize thought, an image of a certain boy floating about his head. Dark, laughing eyes in a pale heart-shaped face... Long, silken tresses that shined like gold and a body like a young goddess but endowed as only a god can be. [1] Could the 'toy' his cohort had spoken of be none other than his bethrothed? The little Grecian who...  
  
"Once we commence, the pawn will have to be eliminated also... we cannot keep a token that is loyal to the Pharaoh unless it is broken." Treize said firmly. 'And my little Grecian is too strong willed and cannot be broken. Duo, I may see you again after all... and this time... you will bend to my will.'  
  
  
  
  
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Heero ravished the boy with his eyes, taking in every centimeter of Duo's creamy flesh. When the boy came closer he reached out and pulled them against one another. Heero kissed the boy's neck, sucking on the smooth white skin until it was marked with red. The Pharaoh grinned and licked along the clenched jaw, nuzzling at the juncture of jaw, ear, and neck.  
  
It took all of Duo's concentration not to succumb to the dark haired man's teasing. He took a deep breath and pushed the Pharaoh away. "Stop," he commanded.  
  
Heero blinked at the boy, then his eyes narrowed. Who was this child to tell him what to do? But his expression softened when the boy added 'please.' "What? Why must I stop?"  
  
"I want more than this..." Heero lent forward to kiss him, but again Duo stopped him. "No, I want to /be/ more than this... more than a sex slave... I have no want to be used and cast off..."  
  
Heero set his jaw, he knew what the boy was asking... He was asking to be made a concubine.  
  
  
  
  
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"You're what?!" Relena demanded.  
  
"I'm taking a concubine whether you like it or not, Relena," Heero told her. "You are the one chosen to bear my heirs, but we grait on each others nerves after a while, do we not?"  
  
She couldn't argue with that. They'd gotten into more than a few fights since their wedding and some had ended with more than bumps and bruises. They were not in love, they were just breeding stock. They had used to make love, but lately it was more of a quick go... perhaps hoping for a child from the joining.  
  
"Fine," she said, looking at her husband.  
  
Heero smiled at her, lifting a hand to cup her delicate cheek. "You should find someone, 'Lena... Maybe you'd be happier if you were to get a lover."  
  
The blonde woman just shook her head. "You are astounding, my King."  
  
"I know," he told her. She cast him a mock glare, swatting at him.  
  
"And arrogant."  
  
"Makes me all the more charming, no?" Heero asked, walking out of her chambers and dodging a pillow she hurled in his direction.  
  
  
  
  
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End part 3  
  
Author's notes:  
[1] Yes, body of a young goddess... ie, he's slim and willowy, lovely. But he's definately a male. Ok? 


	4. Chapter 4

1 Oct 2001  
  
Anyone remember this?  
  
Author's notes: A brief historical note here, this is set sometime between 753 BCE and 612 BCE... That means sometime between the birth of the Roman Empire and the end of the Third Intermediate Period in Ancient Egypt. Assyria is in domination of Mesopotamia, Rome is a Monarchy, and it is somewhere between the Age of Tyrants and Age of Democracy in Greece. Christianity has not risen into view and the worship of many gods is prominent. End of history lesson. ^_^ Another note: Any assumptions about ancient Egypt are not meant as insults or jokes, but used to further the story... I am sorry if this offends anyone... ::bows humblely:: Thanks: Sony_Mouse for the title... ack, who gave me the idea? SteelSong? Yeah. Thanks Skye for BETAing that so quick! (where were you when I needed help on that effing english essay! ::whines:: 37%) More notes: Hehe... I just learned from Sony_Mouse and my two gay friends about real gay sex, so I am trying a different approach to it than normal. Please be wary.  
Warnings: yaoi, lime, lemon, angst, S&M, masturbation  
Category: AU  
Pairings: main 1x2, 3x4, 13x6; other less focused on 1xR, 13x2  
  
  
  
  
  
Jewel of the Nile by Willow  
Part 4  
  
  
This was the day he'd been waiting for. After two whole weeks of waiting and living as a servant in the Pharaoh's concubine chamber, Duo was finally going to be officially made a Royal Concubine. Finally he'd have status again! Not that that really mattered, no. It was just a nice thing to have.   
  
'Especially since I'm better off here than I would have been if I'd not been kidnapped.' Duo thought ignoring the servants flitting about him.  
  
After all, he had friends here. Quatre and Bast, the cat, were his constant companions. Trowa would often stand under the trees and watch as Quatre taught Duo how to play the current popular game or nuances of Egyptian politics. And Wufei would talk to him of philosophies and justice sometimes teaching him self-protection techniques -- why, he'd yet to figure out, but that is what the man did. He was enjoying himself immensely. He was even growing quite close to the Pharaoh and the Queen.  
  
-flashback-  
  
"This is your concubine-to-be?" Relena asked, running her hyssop blue eyes over Duo's form. "He's lovely, Heero... and I see you found one to suit your hair fetish?" she teased.  
  
Heero just grunted. "So you consent?"  
  
"Yes, I consent," she said, smiling. The smile turned up a notch when she turned to look at the braided boy. "So... Duo. Tell me, how do you manage such long and beautiful hair?"  
  
-end flashback-  
  
Ever since that afternoon, Relena'd sought him out to talk about everything from hair tips to politics. She'd found his knowledge of the latter amazing and his knowledge of the former helpful.  
  
He drew his mind back to the present. Hilde stood beside him, helping him to dress in the formal silks and golden adornments. They were dazzling and elaborate and Duo found himself giggling at the thought of how long it would take Heero to undress him that night... He paused. 'Or me to undress myself,' he thought, a slight pout in his mental voice.  
  
"Okay, finished!" Hilde chimed, grinning at him. "You look great! I bet Queen Relena's jealous! The Pharaoh taking such a gorgeous *boy* into his bed and all!"  
  
Duo blushed. "Actually, Relena was very happy... she knows Heero doesn't love her. She doesn't love him either -- she cares for him and wants him to be happy."  
  
Hilde smiled. "Yeah, the Queen's a nice person... I was just joking. I'm sure you'll make him happy, Duo. Oop! Time for you to be out there!"  
  
  
  
  
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Heero fidgeted. There was no other word for it. He'd never fidgeted in his life, but as he waited for the slim beauty to glide his way to stand before the dais that was what he found himself doing.   
  
The room was filled with onlookers, royal guests and the like, all here to watch the ceremony that was being treated more like a celebration. Servants roamed the room bringing refreshment to those invited to the grand event. The room was a-buzz with conversations, all questioning whom the Pharaoh had chosen as a concubine.  
  
They'd all seen the young beauty whom the king had brought with him to the previous meeting of state... but it was common for a king to bring such a pet to watch, it meant nothing.  
  
The buzz died down as two columns of maidens in golden warrior garb walked in through the massive doors. A collective gasp rose from the crowd as the chestnut haired boy, dressed in similar gold adorned fashion, paused at the entrance before gliding forward with his head held high. [1]  
  
He stopped before the dais and knelt, his bowed head spilling loose and pleated stands on the sandstone floor. Relena rose and smiled at the gathering. "With Bastet as my witness, let this be a blessed and joyous union. Let them join with my blessings," she smiled sweetly and took a bowl from the servant at her side. Walking over to Duo she placed her hand in the bowl then smeared the golden paint on the boy's right shoulder.  
  
The priest nodded to her as she once more took her seat beside the Pharaoh, before he rose. "By the Ennead, I consecrate this union... may the gods smile upon you and bring you joy." He, too, dipped his hand in the paint, besmearing Duo's left shoulder. "No other shall touch thee, thy body is now a temple. A temple for the Pharaoh alone." [2] Wiping his hand, he reached over and retrieved the golden circlet that rested on a velvet pillow and placing it on the bowed head. "Rise and be with him." [3]  
  
Duo did as bade, gracefully rising and taking his place on the large pillow at the base of Heero's throne.  
  
  
  
  
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Duo smiled as he sat and watched the festivities that had been arranged in his honor -- sort of. 'More like in honor of the Pharaoh's choice,' he almost snorted. Either way, it did not matter to him. He'd been honored only a couple times in his life -- at birth and on his 16th when his father decided to betroth him to a slimy Roman -- so he was content to pretend that this was all for him, he the Pharaoh's concubine.  
  
Finally, night fell and the celebrations ended. Duo found himself nervously tearing at his fingernails and worrying his lip till it bled.  
  
"Calm down, Duo!" Hilde said, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him.   
  
"Calm? Hilde, this is like a wedding night! Titans and Sirens, this is the closest thing I'll ever have to a wedding, so that makes this just as terrifying as a wedding night and I--"  
  
Smack! Duo blinked at the girl, holding a hand to his not even reddened cheek. [4] "Get a grip on yourself! For Isis' sake!"  
  
Duo stared at her, taking calming breaths. "Sorry, Hilde..." he mumbled. "Thanks."  
  
The black haired girl just sighed and shook her head. "It's no never mind, so just... enjoy this night, 'kay?" [5]  
  
Duo nodded, then -- steeling himself for what he knew awaited him -- turned and walked into Heero's chambers.  
  
  
  
  
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Duo blinked as he stepped into the gold bathed chamber of the Pharaoh. The room was awash in hues of orange and gold from the setting sun, the last light of the diminishing day. Slowly, meekly -- though Duo was anything but meek -- Duo padded over to stand in front of his Lord.  
  
"Are you ready for this?" Heero asked. Gently, he lifted the bowed head of his concubine, finger crooked beneath the soft pointed chin. "We will not do this if you are not ready..."  
  
"I... I am ready..." Duo answered, gasping as soft lips closed over his.   
  
For all his strength, the Pharaoh was a gentle lover, careful in every motion. Slowly, gently, Heero walked them back toward the bed, laying the boy down on the soft, silken bedding. "I've waited so long so be able to do this..."  
  
"Two weeks is hardly a long time," Duo breathed as carmine lips whispered down his long, pale neck.  
  
"Aa, but it is long enough for want to become need," the older boy breathed against the hollow cleft at his collar. "Mmm... this must go..."  
  
Duo heard a snap then the neck plate was removed and tossed across the bed, landing with a dull thump on the other side.  
  
"Better," Heero murmured, lapping at a caramel colored nipple. Duo inhaled sharply as the other sank his teeth into the harden nub of flesh then released. Cold followed wet as Heero trailed his tongue under one pectoral muscle then the other, before ravishing hard and neglected nipple.  
  
Duo groaned as slim fingers dropped feathery caresses up and down his bare sides. "He-- My Lord..." Duo gasped out as Heero found a particularly sensitive spot.  
  
"Say my name..." Duo bit his lip. "Say my name, Duo... I want to hear you cry my name..." As Heero said this, he unfastened the belt that held Duo's skirt about his slim waist. "... to the world." Duo moaned aloud as Heero's tongue flicked out to tease the slit at the head of his arousal.  
  
"Oh gods, Heero!" the chestnut haired teen moaned.  
  
"That's it..." The Pharaoh smiled and rewarded the young Greek by enveloping his erection in one hungry gulp.  
  
"GODS!" Duo screamed. "HEERO!" The heat engulfing him was intense, shooting sparks across his vision.  
  
Smiling, the dark haired boy swirled his tongue around the stiff shaft, savouring the flavour that was Duo. Although the young king had never done something quite like this before, being that it was his first time with a man, the principles were the same as ones he'd used before many atime. Heero bobbed his head up and down, twirling his slick tongue up and down the younger boy's thick shaft, seeking what would drive the young virgin beneath him positively insane with pleasure.  
  
"Mmmm," Heero hummed, the vibrations of his throat ripping another delectable scream from the swan like throat of his lover.   
  
Slightly calloused hands crept to below satiny smooth and shapely legs to tease the tender fleshy sac at the base of Duo's swollen shaft. That was all it took. Duo's back arched up off the bed as he shot his essence into Heero's awaiting mouth.  
  
Pulling back, Heero licked his lips, eying the erotic display of the foreign boy before him. "You taste like a dream..."  
  
Duo blinked sleepily at his King, his lover then moaned as he watched the young man lick his full, sensuous, and oh so wonderful lips. The Greek boy levered himself up onto his elbows, glancing up and down the toned and tanned body of his Master, noting the state of his arousal.  
  
"Heero..." Duo said, glancing meaningfully at the bulge of Heero's tunic. Slowly, the slender youth climbed to his knees and began to unfasten his Master's belt, but strong hands halted him. "Heero?" he queried, looking up at the Egyptian King.  
  
"No..." Heero said, wrapping his hands around Duo's thin wrists and pulling the concubine to him. "Not like that..." the Pharaoh whispered across Duo's rosy lips.  
  
Violet eyes widened and Duo bit back a groan as Heero press seductively against him. "Yes... yes, Master... yes, Heero... anything you want..." He moaned as his arousal returned to him.  
  
In a flurry of motion, Duo found himself once again pressed to the bed. Only this time, bare flesh was pressed to bare flesh. Sensations flooded Duo and he could not discern who was who, what was what. He was everything and nothing as Heero penetrated his virgin entrance with his thick shaft, sliding in all the way to the hilt before pausing.  
  
"Are you alright?" Heero asked as he settled into the tight channel. A nod. "Are you sure? I will not move until I am sure you are alright."  
  
Duo nodded again, this time more fiercely. "I'm fine! Take me, oh gods, please! Take me, Heero!!"  
  
Satisfied with Duo's answer, Heero began to move and Duo's world shifted. He was flying, bright specks of color danced across his vision. He was high in the air, falling yet not. Everything was blurring in motion, yet he was safe, restrained. Duo opened his 'eyes' and he could see huge buildings around him, taller than the Parthenon perched on the Acropolis at Athens. Taller than anything any man had dreamt of. He reached out to touch what his eyes beheld... then his whole world exploded around him.  
  
"HEERO!" Duo screamed as he came for the second time.  
  
"DUO!" Heero groaned out as said boy's inner walls clamped down upon him and drew from him his own release.  
  
Together they collapsed on the sweat-soaked bed, breath coming in rapid and irrythmic gasps.   
  
The last light of day had faded from the sky, only the oil lamps burned on. Nestled soundly in the grand bed, the two lovers slept, wrapped in one another's arms.  
  
  
  
  
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Hilde watched from the door as the two drifted off into sleep. As twin sets of eyes drooped shut, the maid girl let out a tiny giggle then slunk out of the room.  
  
  
  
  
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"And how, may I ask, is your scheme going to work, Zechs?" Treize asked, a little miffed. "You saw how she acted! She was happy that that brat of a Pharaoh, Heero, had chosen the little prince as a concubine!"  
  
"She'll join us! If that boy continues to make as much of a public disturbance as he is, then she will be forgotten by the people and /that/ will piss her off! Relena always demanded that she be the center of everyone's -- and I mean everyone's! -- attention." Zechs paused and did a double take. "Did you say prince?"  
  
Treize smiled at him, a wicked and cruel expression. "Yes... the boy is a prince."  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"Anyone could tell by the way he holds himself," Treize drawled, playing with his glass and looking disinterested. "But I know for a fact, that Heero's little pet is a prince..."  
  
Zechs quirked an eyebrow at the man. "Oh? How so?"  
  
The wicked smile grew and Treize leaned closer to whisper breathily into the blond man's ear. "Remember I told you that an old king in Greece had betrothed his last unwed child to me as a peace offering between Greece and Rome?"  
  
"Yes... I seem to recall you were quite taken by the little tramp..." Zechs bit out dangerously. No one caught the attention of his lover. No one.  
  
"Yes, well you see... The young child was a mere ten summers when his father made the deal.... and I was in a bit of a mood... Une had been in a tither, as I recall, about some thing or other involving Roman politics... The woman had no place to meddle in the affairs of state... Ah, I recall it was about the boy as a peace offering.. She did not like it one bit that a child was being used as a bargaining tool... Well..."  
  
"Treize..."  
  
"Yes, love?"  
  
"You're stalling..."  
  
"Why indeed I am..."  
  
"Get to the point..."  
  
"I love it when you're demanding and direct..."  
  
"Treize," Zechs said menacingly.  
  
"Fine fine... you're no fun sometimes, you know that Zechs...."  
  
Zechs glared at him. "You know the boy is a prince why?"  
  
"Oh simply because he was the youth the Greek king betrothed to me."  
  
Zechs nearly fell out of his seat. [6]  
  
  
  
  
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End part 4  
  
Author's notes:  
[1] Um, slaves don't do this... not even a slave being made a concubine.. Not to my knowledge at least... ::grins:: There ya go, Hana.   
[2] I'm uh, using 'The Mummy' as reference here... ::sniggers:: "... Anck-su-namun, Pharaoh's mistress. No other man was allowed to touch her." Also for the paint stuff... (demo, Hilde can shake/touch him because she's the maid and helps ready him... he can't paint himself can he? She's the best for the job.)   
[3] ::shrugs:: Hana said it sounded more binding than marriage, and in this case I suppose it is. A slave would not be given the right to sleep with whom ever they wanted, but spouses (royalty) can.   
[4] Hilde *can* smack harder, but she doesn't need to injure him, just get his attention. ^_^ She's a smart girl, no?   
[5] A note on the slang stuff... Someone mentioned something about the used of slang by certain characters... Well, I'm sure slaves and servants were not as cultured as their masters, so they don't speak as nicely... that's why I've got conjunctions that sound like slang and other slang things thrown in. I've no clue exactly how they spoke back than and I dun think it can be translated very well into english, so this is all I got to use.   
[6] Yes, yes.... Zechsy-poo is kind of dense here... And yes yes, I did pull some kinda out of order stuff from what Duo said... Here goes -- Treize was offered the betrothal when Duo was ten... Duo was not yet old enough (in this fic) so the betrothal was official when he turned 16, not 10. Ok? 


	5. Chapter 5

3 Oct 2001  
  
I'm evil... I am so evil.... I'm so dead.... hehehehe  
::hides behind a rock::  
  
Author's notes: A brief historical note here, this is set sometime between 753 BCE and 612 BCE... That means sometime between the birth of the Roman Empire and the end of the Third Intermediate Period in Ancient Egypt. Assyria is in domination of Mesopotamia, Rome is a Monarchy, and it is somewhere between the Age of Tyrants and Age of Democracy in Greece. Christianity has not risen into view and the worship of many gods is prominent. End of history lesson. ^_^ Another note: Any assumptions about ancient Egypt are not meant as insults or jokes, but used to further the story... I am sorry if this offends anyone... ::bows humblely:: Thanks: Sony_Mouse for the title... ack, who gave me the idea? SteelSong? Yeah.  
Warnings: yaoi, lime, lemon, angst, S&M, masturbation, conspiracy  
Category: AU  
Pairings: main 1x2, 3x4, 13x6; other less focused on 1xR, 13x2  
  
  
  
  
  
Jewel of the Nile by Willow  
Part 5  
  
  
-2 months later-  
  
Exotic, golden fish fled as slim, ivory fingers danced across the shimmering garden pond. Violet eyes laughed as the silvery bodies skittered in all directions.  
  
Duo was in paradise, pure and simple. Each passing day sent him falling harder and deeper for the Egyptian king. And even if he'd had the want to stop himself from loving the tousle haired man, he couldn't have. Every tender caress, every gentle embrace, ever loving moment spent in the Pharaoh's presence was ecstasy; while every moment apart was sweet torture.  
  
"You've got it bad, don't you?" Hilde asked, standing three paces behind where he knelt on the bank of the pond.  
  
Duo stood and looked into the blue-almost-black eyes of the young maid. "Yes, I suppose I do," he replied, smiling sweetly.  
  
The girl chuckled, returning the smile. "Well, young concubine, it is time for the afternoon audience, and His Majesty requires your attendance."  
  
Duo grinned at her. "Of course he requires my attendance... If I were not there, what would he have to distract him from the boring affairs of State?" Duo chuckled as Hilde shook her head and turned toward their Master's chambers.  
  
"Come, arrogant one, we must ready you for the audience..." Hilde gave a mock suffering sigh. "When I'm finished with you," she looked back over one tanned shoulder. "His Majesty won't be the only one distracted by your presence."  
  
Duo chuckled and followed the dark haired servant inside.  
  
  
  
  
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As every time before, all eyes were drawn to rest upon the gilded concubine as he entered the audience chamber and took his place at Heero's feet. The Pharaoh, in all appearance ignoring the boy, laid a hand to rest atop the pleated chestnut locks as the boy seated himself.  
  
Once the masses had calmed, Heero nodded to his herald. The scraggly, gold embossed man stepped forward and inhaled deeply. "Will the representative from Rome step forward and present his business!" He crowed, then stepped back to his place.  
  
From the crowd a well groomed Roman, draped in a deep purple toga, stepped forth, striding elegantly toward the raised platform. "Pharaoh," he purred, kneeling at the foot of the dais. The ginger haired man raised his head and looked at the concubine relaxing before him.  
  
Violet and azure connected, and Duo nearly choked on his tongue. 'How can he-- why-- oh Gods!' Fear coursed through him as he watched the Roman turn his head and look at the Egyptian king.   
  
"Premius Treizus, first prince of Rome, seeking to open trade between your noble empire and mine," the tall man drawled respectively.  
  
"I, Heero, Pharaoh, Son of the Sun, the Gods' Voice, do welcome you, Premius Treizus. Your business has been heard and will be thought over and discussed with you and your delegation in a private session. Please, remain at the palace as a guest of my people," Heero replied, rubbing a thumb soothingly against Duo's scalp.  
  
Treize nodded to the young Pharaoh then turned and took his place amongst the crowd.  
  
The rest of the audience was but a blink of the eye and Duo soon found himself standing at the edge of the crowd, his arm hooked around Heero's own. The brown haired man was discussing crops with a weather-beaten farmer and furrowing his brow in thought.  
  
The golden concubine carefully tugged at his Master's arm, effectively getting the Pharaoh's attention without smearing any of paint that covered his own petit body. "Majesty... I am tired and the night is long ahead of me," he told the blue eyed king discretely. "Might I beg leave to rest and rid my body of this golden annoyance?"  
  
Heero's lips twitched as the farmer blinked confusedly. "Aa," Heero breathed, nodding. "I shall be with you when this," he gestured around the audience hall. "permits."  
  
Duo smiled. Heero could rid himself of the crowd at any time and he knew Duo knew this. Bowing respectfully to the farmer and his Master, Duo slipped stealthily out of the audience chamber.  
  
  
  
  
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Relena wrinkled her nose as the young concubine made his disappearance. She sighed as she sat on her throne, no one paying her any mind.  
  
"Might as well disappear myself," she murmured distastefully.  
  
"Oh, sister... it seems you already have!" Zechs chirped from behind her.  
  
The wigged woman jumped in her seat, turing to glare at her brother.  
  
"Yes," Zechs drawled. "It seems you already have...."  
  
  
  
  
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Treize watched Duo make his leave before traipsing over to stand next to Heero. "Majesty?"  
  
Heero turned and looked at the man beside him. "Primius Treizus..." he nodded in recognition.  
  
"Please... call me Treize." Heero nodded again. "I could not help but notice your small pet you keep close by is missing..."  
  
Heero's eyes narrowed slightly. "My *concubine* has gone back to his room to rest..."  
  
Treize just smiled. "How did such a pretty foreigner come into your hands, might I ask?"  
  
"I bought him, as if it's any of your concern..."  
  
"Oh, I am terribly sorry if I have offended you... I am merely curious. He seems familiar, that one..."  
  
"Familiar? I doubt that..."  
  
"No, I am sure I have seen that boy before... He's striking... I'd not forget a face like that one's."  
  
Heero turned to glare at the Roman. "You obviously want to tell me something, so spit it out, Treize, or I am done with you... I have no time for games."  
  
Treize chuckled. "My my, you have me pinned. I will tell you then... Your little concubine is not the slave you think he is," he whispered, leaning in toward the young Pharaoh. "You must have noticed how high he holds his head and how well educated that pretty one be. What would you deduce of him, then? That he be of noble birth, perhaps? Skin so pale can only come from one place, you know."  
  
"You're still playing word games, Treizus," Heero threatened. He was getting irritated listening to the man babble, but curiosity had begun to rear it's ugly head at the mention of noble birth.  
  
Treize sighed, smiling. "The boy is nothing less than a prince... A member of the royal house of Greece. Not an heir, mind you... no, far to down the line, what with nine other siblings.... Also," and Treize paused significantly. "your young concubine is not yours at all."  
  
Heero's eyes widened. Of course Duo was his... "What do you mean?" Heero bit out, his anger was thick in his mouth and he could taste it's bitterness.  
  
"Long before he ever found his way into your land, the boy was betrothed. He is legally bound to another, young Pharaoh... and that other, is me."  
  
Heero glared at him. Could what the Roman had said be true? Could Duo really have lied to him and led him to believe he was a slave and Heero's alone? Prussian eyes darkened in fury and abruptly, Heero left the room.  
  
  
  
  
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Duo blinked sleepily as the large metal doors slammed open. "Wha-- Heero?"  
  
The King stood at the foot of the silk strewn bed, his breathing heavy and erratic. "Duo..." he growled, glaring at the scantly clad boy.  
  
Duo's hair was down and still damp from his bath, falling in rivers down his shoulders and chest to pool about him in heaps of silk amongst the covers. He was about to speak when Heero cut him off.  
  
"Why didn't you tell me?"  
  
"Tell you what?" Duo asked blinking. He stared at the boy in front of him, brow furrowed in confusion.  
  
"Treize--"  
  
Duo's eyes went wide, all color draining from his face. He suddenly understood why Heero was so mad... and that he was mad at him.  
  
"-- told me all about you. Did you think you could hide it from me? Why didn't you tell me that you're a prince?"  
  
"I--"  
  
"You act the role of a servant well, young prince. Tell me, if you would loosen your lips to do so... What contingency plan has the conspiracy in case you were to fail?"  
  
"Conspiracy? Contingency plan? I have no clue what you speak of, Heero--"  
  
"Do not address me in such a manner!" Heero barked out.  
  
Duo shrank back in fear.  
  
"You were betrothed to Treize and ran away, didn't you? It seems like a thing a coward like you would do. And you ended up here... What else have the conspirators in store for me? Relena's an assassin? Hilde's going to poison me as I sleep?"  
  
Tears were streaming down Duo's cheeks. How could Heero think such things of him? He couldn't listen to the accusations anymore... Blinking tears from his eyes, Duo lept off the bed and ran.  
  
  
  
  
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Heero watched the boy flee, a sharp pain tugging at his heart as the loose chestnut hair disappeared around the corner. He felt numb... dead inside, like he had before the young Grecian had come into his life.  
  
A blur moved in front of his eyes causing him to blink and refocus. When he did, he was eye to eye with a set of pissed off midnight blue orbs.  
  
SMACK!  
  
Heero blinked. Then blinked again. 'What just happened?' He thought trying to connect the past seconds.   
  
"That's for hurting Duo!" Hilde yelled at him. "I don't care if you are the Pharaoh! You shouldn't treat anyone like that!" The girl's cheeks were flushed with the heat of her anger. "He's pure and innocent, anyone who looks at him could tell! He has no connection to your paranoid delusion of a conspiracy and you, of all people, should realize that!"  
  
Heero stared at her as if she'd grown another head. "Are you mad?"  
  
"Yes, I'm mad! I mean, no.. Argh! I'm furious! And perhaps just a little insane, enough to put you in your place! I'm the only one who will, so yes, I have to be a little bit crazy, don't I?" Hilde bit out. "You let that scum Treize -- and the man is scum! He's the reason Duo was a slave! The bastard had him kidnapped and sold! -- you let him come in and tell you garbage about Duo... part of it's true, I admit, -- Duo confided in me that he really is a prince and was betrothed to that weasel Treize -- but really! Isis would think you are less of a man than I know you to be!"  
  
Hilde paused to catch her breath, watching Heero as he stared on in silence.  
  
"What... what should I do?" Heero asked, finally.  
  
Hilde sighed. The King looked far too young in that moment, far too vulnerable and lost. She shook her head and wrapped her arms around his chest. "Find him and apologize..."  
  
"Oh, yes... please do," a mellow voice chuckled.  
  
In the shadows, other voices sniggered and tossed taunts and jeers.   
  
"You see... If you do he'll be much more fun to break," the blond man chuckled, stepping into the light.  
  
Heero growled, preparing to launch at the man.  
  
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," a feminine voice said behind him.  
  
  
  
  
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Duo ran as fast as his feet could carry him. He ran to the end of the walled in garden, desperately clutching at the trunk of a palm to keep from collapsing to the dusty ground.  
  
'Why? Why, Heero? Why?' his mind asked over and over again. "Why would he say such things?"  
  
"Perhaps because they are true," a smooth voice whispered in his ear.   
  
Duo jumped a good three feet into the air, spinning to stare wide-eyed at the owner of the distasteful voice. "Why?! Why do you ruin my life, Treize! I never did anything to you!"  
  
"Oh, but, pretty one, you didn't have to," Treize cooed. "You see... you were only a convenient pawn in this game. I had no clue, when I had you kidnapped, that you'd end up here, in the very place I was plotting to take over."  
  
Treize moved closer, lifting a hand to caress the soft curve of Duo's tear-stained cheek.  
  
"My my, pretty one, how you've developed into such a nice dish. Scrumptious... I could just eat you up..." Treize licked daintily at Duo's earlobe, teasing the soft flesh.  
  
Duo trembled in the Roman man's grasp, his knees weak with fear and revulsion. Never did he want this man's hands on his flesh, but here they were -- Treize caressing his cheek and neck, his hands touching flesh they should not near.  
  
When the ginger haired man came close once more, Duo snapped at him, teeth clicking resoundingly.   
  
"Ah, ah, ah," Treize admonished, pressing his thumb against Duo's throbbing pulse. "Naughty naughty."  
  
Duo glared at the man for a second longer before his vision went black.  
  
  
  
  
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"Relena!" he gasped out, looking at the blonde Queen. "Why?"  
  
"I've grown tired, these weeks, of being a background to your pet.... yes, he's a sweet boy and very lovable, but really Heero? Did you think I'd sit back and become nothing more than a brood mare?"  
  
"But... you were all for it..." Heero frowned at her.  
  
"Yes, I was... but you see, I figured you'd keep him in your bed and not flaunt him in public... but did you, Heero? No... you just had to always have him at your elbow... at your beck and call."  
  
Heero couldn't believe what his eyes beheld. "You are that shallow of a person?"  
  
Relena sighed. "Heero, you must understand... all I have is my public figure now that you have found someone you can love..."  
  
Heero blinked at her.  
  
Relena smiled. "Yes... love. I know you love him... and that I am happy for. But now I want to be happy... you're happy, now it's my turn."  
  
"Relena, we haven't time for this--"  
  
"Shut up, Milliardo!" she hissed. "I shall take as long as I please..."  
  
"Can we continue this on the caravan out of this place?" Treize purred from the open Roman style window. [1]  
  
Heero growled and tried to attack the taller man when he noticed the limp form tossed carelessly over the man's shoulder, but before he could move a foot he was pinned to the ground by several larger bodies.  
  
Relena knelt and looked pitifully at him then waved a bottle under his nose. Heero blinked once, looking up at the maid held firmly by the large blond man, then the world was black.  
  
  
  
  
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End part 5  
  
Author's notes:  
[1] Roman style windows are those floor to ceiling windows that are like doors, ya know? I like them.  
  
One foot note... I think the part was simple enough to understand... if not, just ask me. So, yes... Relena does get in on the conspiracy... I heavily debated whether or not to make her, but then I decided I needed to keep her in the fic... so I chose to make her part of the conspiracy. 


	6. Chapter 6 - Conclusion

7 Oct 2001  
  
First, a HUGE thanks to my beta readers... Misu for catching all my STUPID mistakes, and Hana for helping me fix all those trying parts! Thank you thank you thank you!  
  
Second, I cannot believe it! I finished it on time and before the Nanashi deadline! Yay me! Though I doubt very much it'll win with all the great fics in the categories I entered it in... But hey! I got to enter my fic this year! So I'm happy enough!  
  
Third, here's the CONCLUSION TO Jewel of the Nile!  
  
Author's notes: A brief historical note here, this is set sometime between 753 BCE and 612 BCE... That means sometime between the birth of the Roman Empire and the end of the Third Intermediate Period in Ancient Egypt. Assyria is in domination of Mesopotamia, Rome is a Monarchy, and it is somewhere between the Age of Tyrants and Age of Democracy in Greece. Christianity has not risen into view and the worship of many gods is prominent. End of history lesson. ^_^ Another note: Any assumptions about ancient Egypt are not meant as insults or jokes, but used to further the story... I am sorry if this offends anyone... ::bows humblely::  
Thanks: Sony_Mouse for the title... ack, who gave me the idea? SteelSong, Spooks? Yeah.  
Warnings: yaoi, angst, conspiracy, abuse/torture, death  
Category: AU  
Pairings: main 1x2, 13x6; other less focused on 3x4, 1xR, 13x2  
  
  
  
  
  
Jewel of the Nile by Willow  
Part 6  
  
  
Biting desert night chilled the tender flesh of the sleeper, waking the young man. Duo blinked once, twice adjusting his eyes to the twilight. Groaning quietly as he moved to sit up, the Grecian boy took note of his surroundings.   
  
He found himself in a cage-like contraption, cuffed to the bars. In the cage with him, to his dismay, was Heero, the young Pharaoh to whom he'd given his heart.  
  
'What have I done that I merit such tortures? What have the Gods against me?' he thought as he kept his head lowered.  
  
Never did he dare question why Heero was in the cage with him. Not once did he have the urge to look into those deep prussian eyes and beg the boy to understand, to forgive.  
  
And so the silence remained, only the snorting and shuffling of the camels and horses breaking the still of the approaching night.  
  
  
  
  
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Heero watched as Duo drifted back to sleep. He wanted with all his being to go over to his love and cradle the small body to him. Apologies flew through his head, everything he wanted to say but couldn't.  
  
Duo was deep asleep as midnight approached, yet Heero remained awake and alert -- scanning his limited view for bandits as were to be found in the deep desert. Luckily, none came and he let his attention drift.  
  
He found himself staring at Duo as the boy shifted in sleep, murmuring softly. One rather intelligible murmur caught his attention and his eyes widened.  
  
"...mm... never lied.... you... love you... Heero... forgive me...."  
  
Duo loved him. Duo hadn't lied to him, just didn't tell him what he didn't need to know... Heero felt terrible all over again. 'I yelled at him and accused him of betraying me... am I such a paranoid and pompous ass that I would believe anything that would fit my delusions?' he asked himself.  
  
"Obviously so," he grumbled under his breath. "What a fool I've been... if I could only tell him..."  
  
The cage lurched to a stop and Heero noticed that they had reached a large structure... The building was seemingly made out of caked clay and rose tall against the sky.  
  
"Up and at 'em," grunted a dark skinned and bulky man in Greek as he unhitched the lock. "Get yer buns a-movin'..."  
  
"Mueller, Mueller..." a blue eyed foreigner chided in the same language. "Don't talk to the prisoners... They are but slime and are not to be spoken to as if they can understand."  
  
"Yeah, Boss... Whate'er you say."  
  
"Good... get them inside and strung up..." The fair skinned one paused, then turned back to face his subordinate. "Oh.. the long haired one goes in Master Treizus' chamber... see to it that he gets there."  
  
"Right-o, Boss."  
  
Heero cursed as the black man wrapped his grubby hand around Duo's slim arm, pulling him out of the cart just as soon as the shackles were released.  
  
"Now you be good, buddy boy... I'm gonna take yer lil pretty here and put him where he belongs, then I'll be back for you," Mueller chortled, closing and locking the cage.  
  
The Pharaoh watched as Duo was carried out of sight, then, in exasperation, slammed his head back against the bars.   
  
"Ow..."  
  
  
  
  
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"--ake up..." a smooth voice sing-songed in his ear. "Come on, little prince."  
  
Duo's eyes shot wide open as a wet tongue squirmed around his ear. His body jerked away from the repulsive feeling of being so close to Treize only to find he was bound and could not move. His hands were tied above his head, looped over a hook in the ceiling and his feet were trussed the same and bound to an eyelet on the floor.  
  
"That's better... it's rather hard to break a slave when they are unconscious."  
  
"I'm not your slave, Treize... I'm not your anything!" Duo bit out furiously. Rage boiled his blood. Twice had this man ruined his perfectly happy life, and for what? Duo had done nothing to the man, never in his life had he caused the man strife or pain, but here the Roman stood before him, ready to ruin the young prince's life all over again.  
  
"That's where you're wrong, pretty child... Utterly, utterly wrong."  
  
  
  
  
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"I want nothing to do with this, Treize," Relena said walking beside the man as he entered Heero's cell.  
  
"Oh Relena, you know I will not force you to be a part of my delight--"  
  
"I never agreed to let you torture them! I figured we'd just send them off somewhere to live alone!" The girl's cornflower blue eyes whirled with distress, darting to lock with Heero's for a moment then back at Treize.   
  
"What's the fun in that?" Zechs asked, hefting his burden higher on his shoulder. Heero's eyes widened as he realize what Zechs held, or more accurately, who.  
  
"You are sick, Milliardo... Both of you are just sick!" And with that she turned on her heal and left the room.  
  
"Truss him up?" Zechs asked, ignoring his sister's departure.  
  
"Yes... and do it to where he's facing our dear Pharaoh. I want him to see his lover's lovely face," Treize chuckled.  
  
Heero watched in horror as Zechs hooked the rope that bound Duo's hands over the embedded hook in the ceiling. Duo's face was a sickly pale -- almost grey in color -- and his eyes were blank, listless. The boy's naked body was covered in bruises and tiny cuts encrusted with dark, dried blood.  
  
The young king didn't know whether to cry or vomit. Frantically he pulled at his bindings, trying desperately to free himself and get to his wounded lover.  
  
"Ah, ah, ah!" Zechs admonished, waggling a finger at the fighting boy. "The more you fight the more he will suffer."  
  
Immediately, Heero stilled, settling for glaring at his captors instead.  
  
"That's better," Zechs chuckled. "Ready when you are, Treize."  
  
The Roman man smiled, pulling a glistening blade from his tunic. "This blade..." He drew the razor sharp edge along the pale skin of Duo's torso, a scarlet stream making it's passing. "... was dipped in Deus Mortis [1] -- the slowest..." Slowly, the blade made another trek over Duo's epidermis. "... most painful poison available."  
  
Heero's eyes widened as cut by cut Treize explained what this Deis Mortis did to the human body.  
  
"... A tiny slice, not perforating past the outer layers of skin..."  
  
Another tiny slice, this time along the tender under belly of Duo's forearm, teasing the pulsing vein beneath.  
  
"... will cause more pain than driving a nine inch blade through the stomach."  
  
Heero watched in utter horror as the Roman reached back and rammed the blade into Duo's unprotected stomach. The suspended boy cringed in pain, eyes widening in shock as he was torn open. A gurgling scream tore from the pale throat and a trickle of blood dripped down Duo's chin.  
  
Pain etched on his own face, Heero cried out, fighting against his bindings with the fervor of a startled animal.  
  
Treize walked toward the restrained Egyptian King. "You pick them well..." he soughed, licking his lips. "He was a very luscious piece, if I do say so myself."  
  
Eyes blazing, Heero launched himself forward with a growl, only to be jolted back in place by the restraints that still bound his wrists.  
  
"Tsk, tsk, Heero."  
  
A cry tore from Heero's throat as the ginger haired man removed the blade, blood pouring from the mortal wound onto the dirt covered floor. The dark haired young man watched helplessly as Duo's life blood spilt upon the filthy floor.  
  
"No!" Heero yelled, face contorting as he watched color drain from his love's face.  
  
"Such a pretty little jewel, isn't he?" Treize asked idly. "How fitting that your court called him the Jewel of the Nile."  
  
The older man made a show of dancing about and slicing at the immobile boy, casting a smattering of new cuts over the graying flesh.  
  
Heero's head was spinning, his vision blurring. Suddenly, he was no longer in the clay outpost, but in a room made of metal.   
  
The walls were lined in this dark grey metal, the slightly metallic gleam reflecting the light that streamed from the tiny barred window in the door across the room. The door swung and a black bundle was pushed in, landing with an 'oof' at the bottom of the two short stairs.  
  
"Nnnn," the bundle groaned piteously, stretching out to lay on its stomach.  
  
"You got captured," Heero heard himself say distastefully.  
  
"Yeah, but I got some information," the exhausted voice said happily, glittering eyes focusing on a figure behind Heero. "Your Gundam and mine are being rebuilt, gonna be better than ever."  
  
That voice, he'd never forget that voice. The sweet one that sang to him in the darkness, softly when his lover thought him asleep. The voice that cried his name over and over again when they made love. The voice that would haunt him beyond his grave.  
  
"Then I can be Shinigami once again... but right now... I need some sleep."  
  
Just like that, as Duo's eyes closed and his breathing evened out into sleep, Heero found himself back in the dirty cell, watching as the tall Roman turned his beloved's dying body into mince-meat.  
  
A growl started deep his his soul, working it's way out of his mouth as he tore his bindings and launched himself at the stunned politician.   
  
Treize blinked in rapid succession as he found his sharp little knife pressed against his throat, his arms held in a vice grip behind his back. "Wha--"  
  
"Don't move, don't speak, don't do anything or this knife will end up in your Adam's apple." Heero hissed. "Untie him." Treize nodded, indicating that Zechs should do as he was commanded.  
  
Once Duo was laid carefully on the floor and covered with Treize's toga, Heero bound the two men together in a corner.   
  
The young Pharaoh moved back to the side of the mortally wounded boy, trying with all his might to remain strong for the one he loved. Tears leaked from his eyes as he clutched the small, mangled body to his chest.   
  
Deep inside his soul, he could feel their hearts pulsing together one last time as Duo's own heartbeat stuttered and slowed. Fear gripped him as he knew he would soon lose his soul mate...  
  
"Gods, I'm so sorry, Duo..." Heero whispered, cradling the boy in his arms. "I love you, please don't leave me... please."  
  
Pain hazed violet eyes stared deep into Heero's own prussian orbs. "... love... you... too..." Duo rasped, coughing as blood bubbled in his throat, splattering out onto his chin. A mewling sound pulled from Duo's throat as he scrunched his eyes shut, a tear leaking from the corner. "... 'm... dying..."  
  
The whispered words tore at Heero, faced bluntly with the reality that his love would not survive this. "No, love," Heero assured him, placing a kiss on the clammy forehead. "No, you are going to be just fine... I promise."  
  
Duo smiled weakly. "... liar..." [2]  
  
Heero's smile faded as Duo's features relaxed. He felt the warm spot that had filled his heart, the warmth he had not even been aware of until it was gone, grow cold and empty. A cry tore from his throat as he pulled the lifeless body into a death grip, holding on for dear life.  
  
  
  
  
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Hilde's eyes blinked open as her cell door creaked open.  
  
"Pharaoh!" she cried, launching herself from where she sat slumped against the wall. She stopped as she saw the sheet wrapped bundle in his arms. Crimson splotches stained the cloth and a tattered rope of chestnut hair trailed from the folds. "Duo?" A nod. "Is he...?"  
  
Heero nodded again, his eyes reflecting all the pain in his soul.  
  
"Oh Gods!" Hilde cried, bringing her hands to cover her mouth as she sank back to the ground. "Oh... gods..."  
  
  
  
  
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Heero stared listlessly out the balcony window. Trowa sighed as he turned his attention back to the table. The young king had been that lifeless since he'd returned baring the corpse of his lover not two weeks before.  
  
"They must die," Wufei growled, slamming a fist on the table before him. His sloe eyes narrowed as he glared at his cup, imagining the chalice was one of the slime-born offenders.  
  
"I agree," Trowa added quietly, holding the mourning blond to his chest.  
  
"Cruelly," Quatre sniffed, voice icy death.  
  
"Painfully," Wufei nodded, clenching his fists.  
  
Trowa shook his head. "We only lower ourselves to their level that way."  
  
"Then what is a happy medium," Wufei snarled. His front was crumbling, tears threatening to blur his vision.  
  
Trowa thought for a minute, then emerald eyes lit with epiphany. Quickly he outlined his idea, glancing between his companions then to Heero. Quatre and Wufei nodded, turning to look at their friend and king.  
  
Heero looked up as he felt three sets of eyes on him. "What?" he asked, voice indefinately sad. Trowa related their suggestion to which he simply shrugged. "Whatever you think best..."  
  
  
  
  
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"Premius Treizus, Prince of Rome; Milliardo, Prince of Cinqante..." Heero's voice echoed through the open-air courtyard and over the masses in attendance. "You are both found guilty of conspiracy to overthrow the Throne of Egypt and the murder of the Royal Concubine. Your respective countries..." He paused, glaring at the men lashed to the carts. "... recognize you not." Heero paused, casting a glance at Relena whose eyes were still red rimmed from her tears -- not for her brother, but for the murdered youth she'd come to care for. "I have decided to grant leniency... You are to be mummified alive and your names lost in time."  
  
  
  
  
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-42 years later-  
  
"My time has come," the old King rasped to his trusted aids. "I pray my children rule well."  
  
The aqua-eyed man, whose hair once gleamed yellow like the sun now grey with age, looked sadly at his friend then to his lover who nodded. The golden skinned warrior, hair and eyes still blacker than night, stepped forward and bowed to his Lord.  
  
"May the Gods be merciful, my Pharaoh. May they grant you what you have a lifetime been denied," he said, reaching out and kissing the hand of his aged friend.  
  
"Thank you, Wufei..." Heero replied smiling. "Ever the scholar and poet. Go now and leave me..."  
  
All three did as bade, closing the large golden doors in their wake. Heero sighed as they disappeared.   
  
"I will find you, Duo... How ever many lifetimes it takes... With the Gods as my witnesses, we shall be together again." [3]  
  
Prussian eyes drifted closed, breaths stilled, the heart beat no more.  
  
  
  
  
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-A.C. 195-  
  
"I dunno, but it looks to me like you're the bad guy here."  
  
Clutching his arm, the dark haired boy turned toward his assailant freezing in midturn as prussian met violet in a charged glance.  
  
  
  
  
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the end  
  
Author's notes:  
[1] God of Death in Latin... ::grins:: Thank you, Une-chan.  
[2] À la "Independance Day".... it seemed fitting.  
[3] Reincarnation is not a major Egyptian belief as  
far as I know, but... yeah... some people did hold it.  
  
I'm not doing an epi... JotN is officially finished! The End! Owari!~ C'est finis! Get it? I tried to end it as best I could, but... hehehe... I've got a sequel that is unknown length (maybe a one-shot, maybe a small series, maybe a fairly long series) that shows the GW universe as affected by this fic planned. IE: Slightly AT GW fic using this as a bg... Heero half Egyptian (sorry to take the half/half idea, seraph)... Duo being American could have anything in his blood! (I know I have odd stuff -- but like the blood stuff would be a connection for Duo since he had not offspring and Heero, being Pharaoh, did... and that's gonna connect... oops! shhh!)... etc... So if I get that done, it will be coming out. 


End file.
